Cord reel



July 30, 1957 G. N. PAILINQ 2,801,303

conn REEL med Jan. 19. 195s I NYENTOB GEA CZ' N. PAIE/NG Unite rates Patent() a CRD REEL Grace N. Pailing, Van Nuys, Calif.

Application .lanuary 19, 1953, Serial No. 331,932

4 Claims. (Cl. 191-12.4)

This invention relates to cord-reels and has as itsgeneral object to provide a reel which can be used in reeling and storing the attached` cord of an electric appliance such as a kitchen mixer, toaster or the like.

A specific object of the invention is to provide a cord reel having means to receive the plug at the end of an attached cord and to reel the cord, beginning at` the plug end, until the cord` is wound up and stowed in the reel with the reel disposed adjacent the appliance to which the other end ofthe cord is attached.

A further object is to provide such a cord reel having means for detachably connecting the plug of the electric cord to the rotatable drum portion thereof, whereby the plug becomes a driving connection between the drum and the cord to be Wound thereon.

Another object is to provide such a cord reel' that is of relatively simple and inexpensive construction.

Other objects will become apparent in the ensuing specifications and appended drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one side of. a cord reel embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the other side thereof;

Fig. 3 is an axial sectional View thereof; and

Fig. 4 is an axial sectional view thereof' taken on an axial plane angularly displaced from the plane of Fig. 3.

As an example of one form in which the invention may be embodied, I have shown in the drawing a cord reel embodying generally a casing A and a rotatable reeling unit B having a crank handle 5 attached thereto. Crank handle 5 has a shaft 6 which is journalled in a bearing collar 7 formed at the center of a flat si'de wall 8 of the casing section A. Casing section A has a cylindrical peripheral wall 9 which may be formed integrally with sidewall 8 in a drawing operation. Casing S, as well as reeling unit B, may be formed of sheet metal or sheet plastic. They may be drawn and formed in conventional sheet metal working operation.

Reeling unit B includes an annular cap section lil and a drum section 11, on which the cord l2 is wound. Cap section 10 has a rim 1'3 which is journalled within the cylindrical peripheral wall 9 of casing A at the open side of the casing. With the rim 13 journalled within wall 9 at the one side of the casing and shaft 6 journalled in bearing collar 7 at the other side of the casing, the reel unit B is adequately supported for rotation within casing A, in coaxial relation thereto.

Cap section 10 of reeling unit B includes, in addition to rim 13, an annular disc portion 14 joined to the inner side of rim 13. Projecting axially outwardly from annular disc portion 14, with aV radius somewhat larger than that of reel body 11, isf an annular trough portion 15 which is defined? between outer and inner radially spaced shoulder wall portions 16 and 17 joined by' a radial web portion 18 lying in the common plane of the outer edge of rim 13 and the edge of peripheral casing Wall 9.

The area: encircled by trough 15 isY bridged. by a central web 19 joined to the inner extremity of. shoulder wall'.

. Patented July 30 1957 2, 17 and cooperating therewith to dene, in the cap section 10, a central recess 20 to receive the body portion ofthe plug 21 of the electric cord 12.

Cap section 10, as shown in Fig. 1, at one side of trough 15 has a rectangular lateral recess 23 to receive the prongs 24 of the plug 21. Lateral recess 23, although immediately adjacent the periphery of central recess 20, is on the other side ofV cap section 10, opening inwardly, whereas recess 20 opens outwardly. Shoulder wall 17 separates the two recesses. Lateral recess 23 communicates with central recess 20 through a pair of apertures 25 in shoulder wall 17, which are of the proper size and shape and spacing to receive the prongs 24. Thus the prongs 24 may be inserted? through apertures 25 into lateral recess 23 and the body portion of the plug 21 may then be seated in the central recess' 20. It will alsol be apparent that the prongs 24 will cooperate with shoulder wall 17 at the edges` of apertures 25 to constitute a driving connection between the cap member 10 and. the plug 21 to cause the cord 12 to be Wound upon` the drum 11 when the latter is rotated.

Diametrically opposite the aperture 25, the cap section 10 is provided with a slot 26 extending radially through trough 15, through annular web member 14 and through the rim 13 so as to be open at its outer end. Slot 26 is somewhat wider than the cord 12 so that the latter may freely pass therethrough from the` interior of the reel to the exterior, as indicated in Fig. 2.. In the peripheral portion 9 of casing A is a slot 27, preferably of the same width as slot 26.. Slot Z7 extends in an axial direction and terminates short of` side wall 8. It is of sufcient depth to allow the cord 12A to be fully wound upon drum 11. l

The drum section 11 comprises a cylindrical4 peripheral drum portion 28, a web portion 29 of annular disc form, and a central hub portion 30 which is of the proper diameter to snugly receive shaft 6. Hub 30 is suitably secured to shaft 6 in yany conventional manner, as by means of a pin 51 extending diametrically through both members. The edge of peripheral portion 28 lies adjacent side wall 8 of.V casing A, and the web portion 29 is suitably secured to the central web 19 of cap section 10 in any conventional manner, a preferred construction" utilizing spot welds 31 joining the web members 19 and 29 face to face as shown in Fig. 2, thus leaving the outer surface of web section 19 smooth and unbroken..

lIn the operation of the device, the plug at the end of an appliance'cord is inserted into the central recess.20 with the prongs 24 being inserted through apertures 25 into lateral recess 23. The slot 26 is then moved into registry withcasing slot 27 andl the portion of the cord 12 immediately adjacent plug 21 is laidl in the registering slots, with the cord projecting outwardly through slot 27. Grasping the crank handle 5, the operator then rotates' the reel unit B` as indicated by arrow 41 in Fig. l. l illustrates the condition occurring at the end of about 270 of rotation. During the iirst 180 of rotation, the portion of cord immediately adjacent plug 21 is accommodated within trough 15, and is wound upon the inner shoulder wall 17 thereof, which constitutes in effect an extension of the peripheral drum Wall 2S. As the' cord, in being wound upon the drum, reaches the prongs 24, it bridges across them andV leaves the trough 15 at that point. The next full turn of the cord will be wound partiallyupon shoulder wall 17 and partially upon peripheral wall 23, immediately inwardly of an nular web wall 14. From this point on, the cord is wound upon peripheralv wall 28 until fully wound on the drum.y With the cord thus disposedA in the plane lying inwardly of webA wall 14, it will be held. away from the`V edgesiof slot 26 so that it will not catch in the slot as the first full turn of the reel' unit B is eompleted.- There after, each turn of the cord on the drum will guide the ensuing turn of the cord onto the drum.

As the cord is wound upon the drum. it is drawn inwardly through slot 27.

When the cord is fully wound, the reel may be placed alongside or upon the appliance, ormay be hung on a suitable projection or hook on the applinace. For this purpose, I preferably provide in the casing section A an opening 33 to receive such projection or hook. The cord is now fully reeled and stowed in immediate connection with'the appliance. When the next it is desired to use the appliance, the reel is simply'lifted away from the appliance and the casing A held in the hands and drawn away from the appliance, causing the cord to be unreeled until it is fully unwound from drum 11. The s lots 26 and 27 are then brought into register and the plug 21 is lifted out ofthe recess 20.

In lifting the plug 21 out of the recess 20, its end adjacent cord 12 is tilted away from the bottom 19 of the recess, the plug pivoting in apertures 25 and the prongs 24 swinging inwardly toward the interior of the cord reeling chamber. This may be accomplished by grasping the cord 12 adjacent the plug 21 (after the cord has been fully unreeled and registered with slot 26) and applying an outward pull against the cord in a direction parallel to the axis of reel shaft 6. When the free end of the plug has been tilted outwardly to a point where it will clear the annular web portion 18 of the trough 15, the plug 21 may be slid longitudinally over the web 18 to withdraw the prongs 24 from the aperture 25.

As a preferred construction, the invention contemplates so locating the slots 26 and 27 that when the cord is fully unwound and drawn tight, the slots 26 and 27 will be exactly aligned so that the cord can be lifted out of the slots without further manipulation of the reel.

The free edge of peripheral drum wall 28 abuts the inner face of casing side wall 8 to axially locate the reel unit B in the casing with the free edges of peripheral casing wall 9 and cap ange 13 lying substantially in a common plane. Handle abuts bearing 7 to retain the reel unit B in assembly in casing A, in the position thus located.

Handle 5 is attached by a hinge 34 to a hub 35 secured to the outer end of shaft 6. Hub 35 has a saddle portion 36 in which handle 5 is embraced when in position for reeling action (the full-line position of Fig. 3). The yoke 36 braces the handle in torque-transmitting connection with the shaft 5.

Pivoting on hinge 34, handle 5 may be flipped over to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, in which its knob 37 extends into one of the openings 33 to lock the reel against unwinding. The knob 37 is only slightly smaller in diameter than openings 33, whereby a slight pressure is required to force the knob through an open ing. Thus the knob functions to latch the handle to the casing 8.

I claim:

1. For an appliance cord having one end attached to an appliance and a free end embodying a connector plug with spaced prongs, a cord reel, completely separable from said appliance, adapted to engage said plug to establish a releasable connection to said cord for winding the cord into the reel, comprising: a casing including a side wall and a peripheral wall, the latter having an axially extending slot therein; a reel unit including a cap section having a rim journalled within said peripheral wall and a central drum section upon which a cord may be reeled, a shaft secured to said central drum section and extending through and journalled in said casing side wall, and handle means on the outer end of said shaft for transmitting rotation thereto; said cap section including an outer body portion of annular disc form and a central reentrant portion defining an external recess to receive said plug in a position wherein the longitudinal axis of the plug extends perpendicularly of the reel axis;

said reentrant portion including a bottom web against l which the side of the plug is adapted to rest and an annular shoulder wall which joins it to the outer body of the cap section, said shoulder wall having therein a pair of circumferentially spaced apertures through which the prongs of said plug are adapted to project into the interior of the reel to establish a clutching connection between the plug and said reel unit; said cap section having a radial slot in said outer body, opening through the periphery thereof and extending through said shoulder wall; and said axially extending peripheral casing wall slot having an open end at the end of said peripheral wall adjacent said cap adapted, upon registration with the outer end of said radial slot, to provide therewith a continuous opening from said recess through said peripheral casing wall, through which the portion of the cord adjacent the plug may enter the interior of the reel when the plug is inserted into said recess; said open end of the peripheral slot being closed by said cap rim when the reel unit is rotated, whereby to transform said periperal slot into a closed-ended aperture through which the cord may enter the reel and be rolled onto said drum section as the reel unit is rotated.

2. A cord reel as defined in claim l, wherein said prongreceiving `apertures are diametrically opposed to said radial slot, to directly receive the portion of cord immediately adjoining the plug.

3. A cord reel as defined in claim 2, wherein said outer body portion of the cap section includes a flat disc portion disposed in a plane inwardly of said adjacent end of the peripheral casing wall, an offset shoulder wall spaced radially outwardly of said rst mentioned shoulder wall, and an annular radial web integrally joining said shoulder walls and cooperating therewith to dene an annular internal channel in which the portion of cord adjacent the plug may extend from the inner end of said radial slot in a helical path around said drum to a point where it clears the inner face of said flat disc portion, said offset shoulder wall and the rim of said cap both projecting from said at disc portion toward said adjacent end of the peripheral casing wall; said outer body portion further including an outwardly recessed portion delining an internal recess communicating with said annular internal channel and opposed to said prong apertures so as to accommodate said prongs within the interior of the reel but axially outwardly of the plane of said flat disc portion of the cap so as to avoid obstruction of the reeling area around said drum.

4. For an appliance cord having one end attached to an appliance and a free end embodying a connector plug with spaced prongs, a cord reel, completely separable from said appliance, adapted to engage said plug to establish a releasable connection to said cord for winding the cord into the reel, comprising: a casing including a side wall and a peripheral wall, the latter having an axially extending slot therein; a reel unit including a cap section and a central drum section upon which a cord may be reeled, a shaft secured to said central drum section and extending through and journalled in said casing side wall, and handle means on the outer end of said shaft for transmitting rotation thereto; said cap section including an outer body portion of annular disc form and a central reentrant portion defining an external recess to receive said plug in a position wherein the longitudinal axis of the plug extends perpendicularly of the reel axis; said reentrant portion including a bottom web against which the side of the plug is adapted to rest and an annular shoulder wall which joins said web to the outer body of the cap section, said shoulder wall having aperture means through which the prongs of said Vplug are adapted to project into the interior of the reel to establish a clutching connection betweenl the plug and said reel unit; said cap section having a radial slot in said outer body, opening through the periphery thereof and extending through said shoulder wall; and said extending peripheral casing wall slot having an open end at the end of said peripheral wall adjacent said cap and adapted, upon registration with the outer end of said radial slot, to provide therewith a continuous opening from said recess through said peripheral casing wall, through which the portion of the cord adjacent the plug may enter the interior of the reel when the plug is inserted into said recess; said open end of the peripheral slot being closed by the periphery of said cap when the reel unit is rotated, whereby to transform said peripheral slot into a closedended aperture through which the cord may enter the reel and be rolled onto said drum section as the reel unit is rotated.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

